We acknowledge the traditional Aboriginal custodians of the lands, waterways and skies of the Bunurong Peoples of the Kulin Nation where we gather, learn and grow at Aspendale Primary School.

We pay our respects to past and present Traditional Custodians and Elders of all nations,  and their ongoing cultural, spiritual and educational practices.  

We extend this respect to all Torres Strait Islanders and any First Nations peoples who learn or visit these grounds. We thank you for sharing and caring for the land we are learning on.

New version of the Acknowedgement of Country
Above is an updated Acknowledgment of Country that has been written in consultation with staff, students and members of our community. We recieved positive feedback and approval from our friends at the Bunurong Land Council in 2023. 



Aspendale Primary School commemorated Reconciliation Week.
We understand that for many members of the APS community, this is a challenging time.

Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

Now more than ever, these conversations are important to be having. 

As a school, we commemorated the week by focusing on developing our sense of community and connections with a whole school event. 

Our School Captains made a video during camp to commemorate the week. It starts with our school's Acknowledgement of Country. You can watch the video here. 


Thank you to Gus, Surina, Warren & Edie for helping create the video. You all did an amazing job understanding the purpose of the week. 

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Important dates:

Event	Date
School Disco Yrs 3-6	11th October
Kingston Division Athletics	11th October
School Council	15th October
ACMI Foundation Excursion	30th October
Curriculum Day	1st November
Foundation 2025 Transition Sessions:	31st October, 7th,14th, 21st November.
Melbourne Cup Day (Public Holiday)	5th November
PYPX	11th November

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It's been a blistering cold and windy week, but that hasn't stopped us from continuing our learning routines and challenging our students through their learning tasks. Term 3 Wrap Up:
Here at APS we have had an action packed, learning filled, exciting term! Here's a wrap up of all that the students have been involved in this term outisde of the everyday classroom learning:
- We welcomed our International Students
- Celebrated NAIDOC week
- Year 3 and 5 Camps
- Olympic Day celebration
- Many incursions and excursions including: Wheeltalk, The Peasant Prince, Foodwebs, Museum, CERES, SES.
- Beach Patrol
- Book Week and Character Dress Up Parade
- LitFest
- Welcomed Kindergarten students into our Foundation classrooms
- Gateways
- Father's and Special Friends Afternoon
- Hosted delegates from China
- Sports Colours Day
- District Athletics and other Sporting Playoffs
- 21 Year 6 students visited China
The students have worked hard this term, focusing on their learning goals and ensuring they create a sense of belonging, through their kind and respectful interactions with each other.

Continuous Reporting:
Yesterday our 5th round of continuous reports were published to Sentral. This round of reports inlcuded English, Mathematics, Unit of Inquiry and our Specialist subjects. 

Updated Child Safety Policies:
We have updated some of our Child Safety policies:
- Child Safety Code of Conduct
- Child Safety Responding and Reporting Policy
- Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy
These are now available on the school website: https://www.aspendale.vic.edu.au/page/9/Policies
We have also updated our Volunteer Policy and the way we induct our Volunteers. 

Becoming a volunteer: 

Members of our school community who would like to volunteer are encouraged to approach a classroom teacher, then read the volunteer induction pack, sign the Volunteers form at the office and provide their Working with Children Check to the office.
Click here to view the Volunteers Policy

Sports Colour Day:
What a fabulous colourful day at APS on Tuesday for our Sports Colour Day. The students and staff joined in by dressing in their favourite teams colours and represented many different sporting teams from Football, Netball, Rubgy, Soccer and Basketball. We gathered together for a morning parade, then classes went off to add their coins to the coin line. Essendon had the longest line, while Collingwood raised the most amount of money. Thankfully the rain clouds stayed away so the students could participate in a round of sporting activities run by our year 6 students. Students then gathered again for a picnic lunch in the courtyard!
A big thank you to the year 6 students for putting together and running the activities, to Mrs Macdonald for her help organising and to all the students for getting involved in a great day and raising $613 for States School Relief!
 

District Athletics:

On Friday 13^th September, 64 students represented our school at the Chelsea District Athletics carnival. It was wonderful to see all students compete with such determination and spirit, performing their best. Aspendale performed exceptionally well, with 14 students becoming district champions and 13 students placing second to qualify through to the Kingston Division Championships on Friday 11^th October. Congratulations also to Terry McNally (Year 4), Mason Murphy (Year 5), Sienna Meyer (Year 5), Marriott Lea (Year 6) and the 9/10 Boys relay team – Terry McNally, Dominic Deszenyi, Oliver Wilson and Monty Irlam, for breaking the district record in their events. Well done to all, and a special thankyou to Katie Scott and Jess Wood for their support leading up to the event and on the day, and Matt Bird and Ruby Clohesy for assisting on the day.

Disco:
It's time to get your dancing shoes on for our school Disco! The disco will take place on Friday 11th October for Years 3-6. Tickets are on sale through the QKR app. There is also a call out for volunteers to help on the night. Please see the flyer later in the newsletter. 

Canteen Manager:
We are currently looking for a new canteen manager. We have placed an advertisement on SEEK. If you or someone you know is interested, please apply through SEEK:

Canteen Manager Job in Aspendale, Melbourne VIC - SEEK

If you have any questions, you can contact Amelia Mastorakos on 9580 3255.

Carpark:
Please remember that the staff car park is not for parents/carers to park in before or after school. We thank you for your cooperation!

End of term - early dismissal:
As the term comes to an end we would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holidays! School will finish at 2:30pm Friday 20th September.

I'm looking forward to some warmer weather over the holidays and into the start of Term 4!

Kind regards,
Amelia Busuttil

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Dear parents and carers,

 

Please see the following information below received form the Department of Education in relation to the School Saving Bonus.

 

In Term 4, 2024, families with a child enrolled in a government school from Prep to Year 12 in 2025 will receive the one-off $400 School Saving Bonus.

 

The $400 School Saving Bonus provides families with support for education-related costs, such as school activities and/or school uniforms and textbooks.

 

The School Saving Bonus is not available for full-fee international students, home schooled students, TAFE students and students attending kindergarten in 2025.   

 

Actions for parents and carers

Before 18 October 2024, the Department of Education is asking parents and carers to:

• Complete enrolment: If your child, or children are changing government school for Term 1 2025, or starting Prep or Year 7 in 2025. For more information, read about Enrolling in School. 
• Check your contact information: Ensure your email address and phone number is up to date with us. You can check this information by contacting us directly.

 

We need to ensure your contact information is up to date as the Department of Education will email you twice:

• in October, to verify your email address
• in November, with your $400 School Saving Bonus and access to an online system.

Please check your junk mail regularly to make sure you do not miss an important email.

To learn more about the School Saving Bonus, download the School Saving Bonus Information sheet for government school parents and carers or visit vic.gov.au/school-saving-bonus.

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Whooping cough

Whooping cough cases are continuing to increase across Victoria, particularly among school-aged children.

Whooping cough is a very contagious infection, mostly spread through coughing or sneezing. Symptoms include:

• blocked or runny nose
• tiredness
• mild fever
• severe bouts of coughing, often followed by a ‘whooping’ sound on breathing.

Whooping cough can lead to life threatening infections in babies.

If your child is unwell, they should not attend school. Please see a doctor if you or your child develops whooping cough symptoms. Early diagnosis and treatment will help reduce the spread of the infection.

Students diagnosed with whooping cough must not attend school

If your child is diagnosed with whooping cough, they must not attend school for 21 days after the onset of the cough, or until they have received 5 days of antibiotic treatment. You must notify the school if your child is diagnosed with whooping cough.

To further reduce the spread of infection to your child and the school community, the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2019 require that some students who were in the same classroom as a student diagnosed with whooping cough should not attend school.

 

Your child should not attend school for 14 days after they were last exposed to a person diagnosed with whooping cough, or until they have taken 5 days of a course of antibiotic treatment if they are:

• aged less than 7 years; and
• not fully vaccinated with 3 doses of whooping cough (pertussis) vaccine.

 

This exclusion is required by law – refer to the School exclusion table for primary schools and children’s services.

If your child is diagnosed with whooping cough, please contact the school to let us know.

More information

For more information about whooping cough, refer to Whooping cough on the Better Health Channel.

 

Vaccination is the best way to reduce the risk of whooping cough. The Department of Health recommends staying up to date with immunisations, including booster doses. A free booster dose of the pertussis vaccine is covered under the national immunisation program for students aged 12 to 13. If you are unsure about your child’s vaccination status for whooping cough, please discuss with an immunisation provider, such as your doctor.

 

I really appreciate your support in keeping our students safe and well.

 

Kind regards,

Amelia Busuttil

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